Andy Fenn doubles up in Mallorca with Trofeo Migjorn sprint

As his teammate Tom Boonen was holding on to the race lead in the Tour of Qatar by his fingernails, Omega Pharma-Quick Step neo-pro Andy Fenn was chalking up his second victory in the Challenge Mallorca, with another sprint win in the Trofeo Migjorn. The 21-year-old Briton, who had won the flat, portside Trofeo Palma the previous day, outsprinted Alexander Porsev (Katusha) – who’d finished third the day before – and Matteo Pelucchi (Europcar) in the far hillier race that headed into the hinterland in the southern part of the Balearic island.

“Today the race was very difficult,” said Fenn after the arrival. “There was a lot of wind and we also raced for a few kilometres under the rain.

“When the group broke up into 3 parts at about 40 kilometres from the arrival I got caught off guard in the second group,” he explained. “I was lucky I found a great Kevin De Weert who helped me catch up to the leaders. Kevin put in a great effort and I thank him. Without him today I never would have made it. But I want to thank the entire squad.

“In the final everyone did what they had to do,” Fenn continued. “It’s a team victory, as was yesterday’s, too. The group here is fantastic and it feels like I’ve always been riding with this team.”

A three man break, made up of Rabobank neo-pro Jetse Bol, Europcar Canadian David Veilleux, and Endura Racing’s Alexander Wetterhall, got away almost from the gun. The trio managed to build a healthy lead, which topped out at 7’25”, but was kept under control by work from Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Team Sky, and Caja Rural.

As the race entered the closing stages the peloton accelerated, under the impetus of the sprinters’ teams and, despite the stiff climbs of Montuïri and the Coll se Santa Bastida causing the peloton to split, the three riders were caught inside the final 30km. Once again, Fenn was the fastest in the peloton sprint, taking his second – and Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s eighth – victory of 2012.

With his two victories so far, Fenn takes the lead in the unofficial general classification, which runs across the four one-day races of the Challenge Mallorca.